If only the cost required shuffling it into the library, then it would have comboed with Surgical Extraction to mill your entire deck.
Jake1991
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Very strong, if not the strongest, way to mill yourself.
KikiJikiTiki
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
My favorite card from the set. Such a unique and widely utilizable ability.
TrueKitsonga
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(8 votes)
Mark Rosewater mentioned that this card was designed by Richard Garfield. It does look unconventional compared to the dumbed-down simplified designs we've gotten used to in recent years. I wonder how much time R&D spent trying to figure out if this card can be broken in half.
Fun times forever in Commander: Step 1: Phantasm Step 2: Crack his ability at end step. Step 3: Praetor's Counsel
VarteDod
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Oh, I'm so making a graveyard deck now...
Faralay
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Alsebra has the right idea here. You can run this as a one-of to REPEAT the effect multiple times on a turn, churning away your library until you've got a library full of flashback cards/zombies, or you can make sure you have one or two Laboratory Maniacs in your hand (along with a counterspell or two, of course) as a risky win condition.
I think the flavor works better if you run this in multiples. A crazed phantasm skittering through a mansion full of mirrors, making you lose your mind, and your spells as a consequence. Really good. 3.5 for combo potential, bumped up to 4 for flavor.
wstonefi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Interesting design, and good in self-mill decks. I have no idea why it's mythic, though.
bagilis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This in your graveyard (and no other in your library). Necrotic ooze and Laboratory Maniac on the battlefield. Pay to have the Ooze be shuffled into library, and of course you will never reveal another phantasm since your only copy is in your graveyard. Win.
Gahoojin
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@ Gcrudaplaneswalker What are you talking about? Why would bazaar trader ever work with this card in any way? It's a 5 mana 5/1 flying u can't kill that gets cards in your graveyard for all the graveyard abilities that innistrad revolves around.
Dragon5911
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Phyrexian metamorph is still in standard. Clone
d-101
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(6 votes)
Wizards has not forgotten you, dredge.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
funny how one of the most interesting cards design-wise was designed by Richard Garfield. :)
DragonicSphinx
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Shouldn't be mythic UNLESS. . . cruel and inhumane combos to be released as the block goes on?
Horrific.
Wanna turn his ability into more of a flicker-to-save-from-removal? Use with wheel of sun and moon.
danyo622
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
combo piece and nothing more
Combolulz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Dredge deck here i come!
thepillow
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
deck with laboratory maniac and skaab ruinator with self mill as the purpose and ruinator as distracion/plan b, including black for extra fun is optional
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@ Alsebra. Great point didn't c that but how would you deal with Nevermore?
dreanor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Going to love this guy in self-mill decks! But do you run just one?
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is my favorite card in the set....... I'm just not sure why yet.
Zoah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is three things for me:
Really really good for designing around... (If copiously expensive to play) Two... Totally garbage in a pre-release where you drew nothing with any synergy with it... And three, the only mythic in the set that I got while sitting just right of someone who got Army of the Damned and this card my first opponent had Balefire Dragon...
The.Laughing.Man
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm loving this card. I have a deck that relies of Opponent Mill and self mill in unison (Recursion through Sheoldred and Creature/Artifact recursion from Geth) And its weak point was always getting my stuff into the grave first. Now I can get a good third or half of my deck into the grave for Sheoldred shinanagans with M-M Phantasm
Astraea
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(16 votes)
Mirror-Mad Phantasm: Now you see me, now you don't! Mwahahahahahahaaha!!!! Player: Gahhhhhh!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY LIBRARY!? Laboratory Maniac: Don't worry. I got this bro.
@Faralay: If you're looking for the Laboratory Maniac alt win condition, only run one Mirror-Mad Phantasm, copy it with something like Evil Twin or Cackling Counterpart, then activate it. Because it explicitly states that you're looking for a card named Mirror-Mad Phantasm, you'll never find it if it's been copied or is being represented by a token (as per the FAQ).
And yes, protect the Lab Maniac with everything you got. Mask of Avacyn, counters, whatever.
the_nonaffiliated
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
splinterfright, anyone? just have it out., and use before attack phase
infernox10
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I want to run three so I run into him, but I want to run two so I can effectively use him.
NoobOfLore
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I've used this guy's ability 5 times. 3 of those times, he milled me down below 4 cards. One of those times, he was the very last card.
I swear to you, this card is cursed.
bneely01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
can u block as many creatures as u can pay for it to reshuffle during blocking phase
WhereDidItGo
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
1. Use Cackling Counterpart to create a token of it. 2. Activate the token's ability. It stops existing as soon as it leaves the battlefield, so your entire library goes to your graveyard. 3. ...You do have a Laboratory Maniac out, right?
RATZGobbler
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
The Phatasm comes out at the gaming table and the other players are like, "Cute, so how long do you I'm going to allow your Laboratory Maniac to live hmm?" But I say, "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to you whilst I cytoshaped your big bad Colossus into another Phantasm." "Oh yeah, well I'm not gonna use it." "Too bad, Act of Aggression."
Shadoflaam
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The sad thing is this eminently casual card made for Johnny combos and people who like to think will be ass-raped by Standard jerks with more Skaab Ruinators and Birthing Pods than brains. Oh well, I'm building an Esper Laboratory Maniac deck and I'm not buying ANYTHING for it. Thank you Richard Garfield, this is awesome!
deadeye1387
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh, sure, I'm going to have 4 of these mythically rare cards in my deck!
Time to start hitting the booster packs...
thexplodingboy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Using this as a surprise wincon in my sedris EDH deck
MagnaLynx21
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pulled a foil one from my first pack at the Pre-Release, I didn't end up using him. A shame but I'm certain he'll be worth something in a set or two.
Luke_BPC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you want some quick self-mill, throw this into your grave, pull him out with Havengul Lich, then activate the ability. Costly, but it will throw your whole deck into your graveyard right away. Or you could do it for cheaper with Necrotic Ooze...
jsttu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
interestingly enough people often focus on the ability to the exclusion of his power, which is 5. While his ability is very combo-tastic, 5 damage in the air is a very nice thing if there are no blockers. Also, i may be wrong but if any removal comes along one can use his ability to avoid it, right?
Crotchkicker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Here's what just happened to me.... I had Back From the Brink in play and Mirror-Mad in my graveyard. I brought him back and used his ability for all of my mana which was seven. One Mirror-Mad in the deck, shuffle him in. Mill myself about twenty cards (including three of my four Drogskol Captains) Next turn... Bring back my two Drogskol Captains from the Graveyard and put them into play with Back From the Brink. All my creatures (all spirits) are now +2/+2 and DOUBLE HEXPROOF!.. including a Mindshrieker I had in play and could use his ability.
TL;DR... Mirror-Mad is awesome. 5/5.
iSpudger
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I really like this guy, but not with a self mill in mind.
I feel like an evil bastard for using this in EDH with Living Death
eisbrecher03
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like how they mention Necrotic Ooze in the rulings... I think they want a Johnny like me to make this combo with a Laboratory Maniac, then a Gitaxian Probe or some silliness for the win.
Negated
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fun as heck. Love this guy in testing, makes self mill oh so fun.
Carkki
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Definately has it's place in a deck running Graveyard wurms, splinterfrights and ghoultrees. Innistrad block has so many cards with this kind of synergy... Wreath of geists etcetc.
nirvava
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I've tried breaking this in standard and just can't seem to do it. Although once it's out, you basically can mill your entire deck next turn (maybe sooner with more support). Closest I ever came was having one already in the graveyard, activating it and casting Surgical Extraction in response, and milling myself in the process. Kind of unwieldy, but cool when you pull it off. Cheapest draw flashback I could think of was Think Twice, so the combo altogether took 5 CMC + 2 life for the extraction. Not bad, but just not practical.
Maybe it'll be different in classic, but not exactly sure why this is a mythic.
dingophone
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Just not impressed with is guy. I like the theory behind him, but he's so expensive. Garfield's original design (unsurprisingly) was way better. The ability originally triggered when it died. 2/5
nessy_ydissac
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Okay, I understand why he's good in a self-mill deck with cards like Laboratory Maniac, Splinterfright and Kessig Cagebreakers. I understand how good five damage in the air is good. I understnd how his activated ability can waste a removal spell and you return him to the battlefield for free.
What I don't get is how they consider this a mythic rare. Maybe if it had a lower mana cost, but even then a lot of the win condition depends on what you have on the field and how your opponent can deal with them.
Enelysios
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I think the shear number of comments here and crazy combos tell us all we need to know about this card, it's a love letter written to the Johnny in all of us! <3
MindAblaze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you use necrotic ooze, doesn't it replace the text with "reveal cards from the top of That library until a card named Necrotic ooze is revealed?" Edit: cool, I guess I was wrong. I want to use him in standard...there has to be a way.
LordRandomness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
*insert Luigi's Mansion music here*
SuperSeed
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This + Boneyard worm, Splinterfright and Ghoultree for a nice standard deck I'm currently working on.
Mean combo with the new Return to Ravnica Psychic Spiral. A: "I mill myself for 20 cards! HAH!" B: "Are you trying to lose the game?" A: "And now Psychic Spiral!" B: FUUUUUUUUUU
GoblinGnarlid12
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This works PERFECT in a self mill deck with Labaratory Maniac. EPIC
Twylyght
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Use this sometimes in my Arcum Dagsson EDH. Tutor up Grimoire of the dead and Citanul flute to get this and set it off for a truck load of fatties and ETB effects.
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
An incredibly perfect choice for mythic rare, with a phenomenally unique ability to build decks around. A mythic rare should have (in my opinion) some kind of gravitational force that motivate its users to craft around it, tinkering with other cards -- such a card should have a game-altering, astounding effect. (It doesn't have to be powerful or aggressive costed or game-winning.) And a mythic rare should have a strong, resonant identity. Something iconic.
A 'mad phantasm' is an incredibly iconic entity, and has been since its popularity in the late Victorian-era literature that this set hearkens to. Everyone's familiar with the notion of a ghost that flits in and out between paintings, or watches what's going on through the eyes of a painting. (Some modern-day examples include a side character in Harry Potter, Mario ghosts, and a villain in Ocarina of Time. The idea also gets parodied a lot, with actual people peering through eye-holes in paintings. Scooby-Doo stuff.)
And this card certainly inspires its fans to build around it. Nothing else does quite what it does, and probably nothing else ever will.
Anyway, 5/5. MMP is the core thermonuclear device powering my Experiment Kraj Commander deck. (Like a lot of Kraj combo decks, the general is usually Momir Vig; he tutors up the pieces.)
Gabby_Leow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I run a single copy with the follow key enablers;
2 Lab Maniac 2 snapcaster Mage 2 Obzedat, Ghost council (Strictly Plan B)
Quite consistent build. Won me a quite a few games and alot of abuse from other players.
turin6682
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm kinda new at this game and I was wondering if this card's ability can be activated while it is in the graveyard. I've been looking through the rule book and so far and don't see any rule saying I can't, but I'd like to make certain. Thanks in advance for your help!
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This single card, along with Laboratory Maniac, probably forcibly tuned hundreds of players into the concept of self-mill decks. "Why would I possibly want to put my library into my graveyard!?"
Ding.
Aremath
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fun in Bruna, Light of Alabaster EDH. You activate the ability until you can kill someone with commander damage in one turn. Unless of course it goes on the bottom of your library...
Earthdawn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This + Rings of Brighthearth in EDH = Dump everything into your graveyard. Mortal Combat seems like a good thing to run with this :)
Aquillion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
1. Steal an opponent's creature with Mind Control, Control Magic, whatever. 2. Cast this card. 3. Cast Mirrorweave, targeting this. 4. Activate the stolen creature's version of this card's ability. It gets shuffled into their library (and stops being a copy), then (assuming they're not using this card) their entire library goes into the graveyard.
@turin6682: As a general rule, unless there is an explicit statement concerning it, activated abilities only work on permanents. Mirror-Mad Phantasm is only a permanent (of type creature) when it is on the battlefield, otherwise it is a creature card (in your hand, library and graveyard.)
Fora kind of counter-example, Cycling is an ability that can only be activated when the card (no matter if it is a creature, instant, land...) is in your hand. But it explicitely states this in the reminder text.
Comments (69)
Step 1: Phantasm
Step 2: Crack his ability at end step.
Step 3: Praetor's Counsel
I think the flavor works better if you run this in multiples. A crazed phantasm skittering through a mansion full of mirrors, making you lose your mind, and your spells as a consequence. Really good. 3.5 for combo potential, bumped up to 4 for flavor.
What are you talking about? Why would bazaar trader ever work with this card in any way? It's a 5 mana 5/1 flying u can't kill that gets cards in your graveyard for all the graveyard abilities that innistrad revolves around.
Horrific.
Wanna turn his ability into more of a flicker-to-save-from-removal? Use with wheel of sun and moon.
Really really good for designing around... (If copiously expensive to play)
Two... Totally garbage in a pre-release where you drew nothing with any synergy with it...
And three, the only mythic in the set that I got while sitting just right of someone who got Army of the Damned and this card my first opponent had Balefire Dragon...
Player: Gahhhhhh!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY LIBRARY!?
Laboratory Maniac: Don't worry. I got this bro.
Activate his ability.
sutured ghoul
And yes, protect the Lab Maniac with everything you got. Mask of Avacyn, counters, whatever.
3 of those times, he milled me down below 4 cards.
One of those times, he was the very last card.
I swear to you, this card is cursed.
2. Activate the token's ability. It stops existing as soon as it leaves the battlefield, so your entire library goes to your graveyard.
3. ...You do have a Laboratory Maniac out, right?
But I say, "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to you whilst I cytoshaped your big bad Colossus into another Phantasm."
"Oh yeah, well I'm not gonna use it."
"Too bad, Act of Aggression."
Time to start hitting the booster packs...
TL;DR... Mirror-Mad is awesome. 5/5.
Ever hear of Warstorm Surge?
Maybe it'll be different in classic, but not exactly sure why this is a mythic.
What I don't get is how they consider this a mythic rare. Maybe if it had a lower mana cost, but even then a lot of the win condition depends on what you have on the field and how your opponent can deal with them.
Edit: cool, I guess I was wrong. I want to use him in standard...there has to be a way.
A: "I mill myself for 20 cards! HAH!"
B: "Are you trying to lose the game?"
A: "And now Psychic Spiral!"
B: FUUUUUUUUUU
A 'mad phantasm' is an incredibly iconic entity, and has been since its popularity in the late Victorian-era literature that this set hearkens to. Everyone's familiar with the notion of a ghost that flits in and out between paintings, or watches what's going on through the eyes of a painting. (Some modern-day examples include a side character in Harry Potter, Mario ghosts, and a villain in Ocarina of Time. The idea also gets parodied a lot, with actual people peering through eye-holes in paintings. Scooby-Doo stuff.)
And this card certainly inspires its fans to build around it. Nothing else does quite what it does, and probably nothing else ever will.
Anyway, 5/5. MMP is the core thermonuclear device powering my Experiment Kraj Commander deck. (Like a lot of Kraj combo decks, the general is usually Momir Vig; he tutors up the pieces.)
2 Lab Maniac
2 snapcaster Mage
2 Obzedat, Ghost council (Strictly Plan B)
4 unburial rite
2 increasing ambition
Multiple cantrips (thought scour, forbidden alchemy, azorius charm)
Quite consistent build. Won me a quite a few games and alot of abuse from other players.
Ding.
2. Cast this card.
3. Cast Mirrorweave, targeting this.
4. Activate the stolen creature's version of this card's ability. It gets shuffled into their library (and stops being a copy), then (assuming they're not using this card) their entire library goes into the graveyard.
Step 1: Mirror-Mad Phantasm (or Traumatize)
Step 2: Bruna, Light of Alabaster or The Mimeoplasm
Have a good day :)
Fora kind of counter-example, Cycling is an ability that can only be activated when the card (no matter if it is a creature, instant, land...) is in your hand. But it explicitely states this in the reminder text.
You could simply just use Leveler or Enter the Infinite...or even Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate.